Chandigarh: Former Deputy Chief Minister and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President Sukhbir Singh Badal has been summoned once again to appear before Special Investigation Team (SIT) on September 14 in connection with the investigation of the Kotkapura firing on the Sikh Sangat in 2015. Badal was earlier summoned by the SIT to record his statement on Tuesday, August 30, but he failed to turn up, prompting the SIT to issue a fresh summon.
However, the SAD maintained that Sukhbir Singh Badal has not received any summons in writing and he only came to know about the development through social media. The SIT summons comes after the Punjab and Haryana High Court had directed the Punjab Government vide order dated 09-04-2021 to constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe into the case.
The probe is related to 2 FIRs, both registered in Kotkapura police station in the firing by the police on October 12 on the Sikh Sangat during their protest against the alleged sacrilege in Bargari. Sukhbir Singh Badal has been directed to appear, along with relevant records for questioning by the SIT in the Kotkapura police firing investigation case.
Also read: Sukhbir Singh Badal summoned on Aug 30 in 2015 Kotkapura firing case
The move is believed to be a major way forward in the Kotkapura firing investigation. Pertinently, the SIT in June last year quizzed Sukhbir Singh Badal. Sukhbir was the Deputy Chief Minister and also the Home Minister when the incidents of the desecration of a religious text and the subsequent police firing took place in Faridkot in 2015. Prior to that, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) patriarch Parkash Singh Badal was also questioned in the case.
